TEXAS LEGISLATURE: Week in review

Gov. Rick Perry calls for $1.6 billion in business tax cuts, renewing his pleas for "tax relief" that have largely been ignored since the Legislature returned to work in January.

Tuesday

In a Senate committee hearing on House Bill 5 — which the House approved to lower the number of standardized high school tests and lessen graduation requirements — Senate Education Committee Chairman Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, attacks the national media on the idea that Texas would be dumbing down standards.

Doctors who perform abortions would be required to have privileges at a nearby hospital under a proposed law, SB 1198, approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

The Senate OKs a bill requiring the state auditor to review Perry's deal-closing Texas Enterprise Fund, which has awarded more than $485 million to private companies looking to expand or relocate.

A Senate committee votes out SB 4, which would create a bank for water funds that could have $2 billion worth of Rainy Day Fund money.

Wednesday

A renewed push to make texting while driving illegal in Texas stays afloat, passing the House — but only after narrowly defeating bipartisan resistance to an outright ban over concerns that ranged from profiling to government meddling.

Texas schools could send up to two teachers to get special tactical response and weapons training to help guard against school shooters under a bill approved by the Senate.

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee votes to repeal the state's anti-gay sodomy law with SB 538, a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional.

The Texas Senate approves legislation to expedite the right to close public schools or convert them into charter schools if they are underperforming academically.

The Senate votes to raise the minimum age for using a tanning facility to 18. The current minimum is 16½ with parental permission.

Thursday

The Senate votes to drastically cut the hours of training needed to get a state concealed handgun license. SB 864, by freshman Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, reduces the requirement from at least 10 hours to at least four hours. The measure now goes to the House, where a similar bill is pending.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality no longer will have the authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions under a proposal passed by the House. Instead TCEQ would issue greenhouse gas permits to allow local industries to emit the substances. The federal Environmental Protection Agency currently has that responsibility.

The Senate votes to give families more protections when doctors want to stop treating a terminally ill patient. SB 303, by Sen. Bob Deuell, a Greenville Republican and physician, said his bill gives the patient and their families more time to appeal the decision and access to medical records. It requires hospitals to continue providing pain management and care.

Texas Republicans propose legislation that would adopt the current political districting map, but Democrats promise to fight that effort.

Lawmakers react in shock to a Wednesday fertilizer plant explosion in West, offering prayer and moments of silence.